“Writing from the epicenter of progressive thought, San Francisco, I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its “one percent,” namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the “rich.”

The letter sparked heated debate, as several prominent voices in Silicon Valley took to Twitter to bash Perkins.

His own firm, where he is no longer active, sought to distance itself from their co-founder, noting in a tweet that he “has not been involved in KPCB in years.” Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen used an expletive to describe Perkins.

On Monday, Perkins acknowledged he went too far – but was defensive about his central thesis, that America’s top “1%” are being unfairly attacked. “As a messenger, I’ve been thoroughly killed by everybody,” he said.

When asked to clarify his message, Perkins said: “Anytime the majority starts to demonize a minority, no matter what it is, it’s wrong. And dangerous. And no good ever comes from it.”

In the discussion, hosted by Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, Mr. Perkins said he was aware of the struggles of the other half. As a self-professed, self-made man, he described himself as a former member of the 99%. He said he too had family members who lived in trailers – though none in his immediate family.

But Perkins seemed more disturbed by what he called the demonization of the rich, a class he also describes as the “creative 1%.” He said he first thought of Kristallnact or the Night of Broken Glass when he saw crowds break windows during the Occupy protests in San Francisco. Since then, he has been further dismayed by the ongoing vilification of the group, which he sees as the country’s top job creators. Toward the end of the interview, he also warned young entrepreneurs to be “aware of where the liberal flag is leading.”

“It’s absurd to demonize the rich for being rich and doing what the rich do, which is get richer by creating opportunity for others,” he said.

During the interview, Mr. Perkins also provided some insight on his complicated relationship with the firm that bears his name. He frequently referred to current and former Kleiner partners as “my” partners, but said he was disappointed that the firm was so quick to rebuke his letter.

“They didn’t need to say anything, but they chose, I guess, to throw me under the bus and I didn’t like that.”
Still, he saved a dig, for Kleiner’s current partners.

“As I’ve distanced myself from the firm, there’s been a corresponding decline in the firm,” he said.